The Vendetta (A Story from The Weird Circle)

In this episode, The Weird Circle presents a dramatization of Honore de Balzac’s story of doomed love “The Vendetta”.

The central character is a young lady named Ginevra Piombo. She falls in love with a soldier hiding in her art teacher’s attic, but the cards are stacked against the lovers from the start because the soldier is wanted by the French authorities. To make matters worse, a terrible girl called Amelia is also a student in Monsieur Sevin’s art class, and when she becomes aware of what is going on Amelia goes running to Ginevra’s father and informs him that his daughter plans to marry the soldier and that the soldier’s name is Luigi Porta.

There is a vendetta between the Porta family and the Piombos and under the terms of the vendetta as long as a Piombo lives all Portas must die. And if Ginevra marries her love she will become a Porta.

Luigi and Generva are well aware of the terms of the vendetta, but they go ahead and marry anyway. After the wedding Ginerva returns home and finds her father waiting for her and, even though there is no cake to cut with it, his old Corsican knife lies on the table beside the tea service.

The Weird Circle: The Vendetta

(Listen to the Full Episode)